


Headlights On The Highway

by thedeviltohisangel



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse
Genre: 1970s, Alternate Universe - 1970s, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-09-29 15:02:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedeviltohisangel/pseuds/thedeviltohisangel
Summary: Michael Langdon owns premiere nightclub, The Cooperative, in 1970s-era Los Angeles. Violet is his favorite dancer who may become more. His rivalry with other high rollers in the scene puts everything and every one at a higher risk. Will Michael be able to reign Supreme and keep Violet by his side?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter mentions choking and murder.

“I need you to do me a favor.” Violet turned from where she was shrugging on her robe at the end of his bed to watch him blow out smoke from the latest drag of his cigarette.

“What on earth is is that you could need from me?” Michael beckoned her closer with a gentle curl of his finger. Her knee landed back onto his bed and she crawled towards him, in just the way he liked so he got the perfect view of her breasts down her robe.

“I’m afraid the new dancer, Aria, just isn’t going to cut it. I’ll need you to take care of her.” She sat back on her knees and plucked the cigarette from his grasp and brought it to her own lips. Thoughtfully, she pulled the smoke into her mouth and released it with a content sigh.

“On one condition,” she bargained with a purse of her glossy, red lips. His hand was around her throat in an instant, her body pressed back against the fur comforter and his face mere centimeters from her own.

“Do you forget your place, Miss Violet? Do I have to remind you what happens to the whores I employ that outlive their usefulness?”

“No, sir.” Michael wasn’t in the mood for her comebacks. Many days he was and that was why he had allowed the woman to come around more often than he did the rest of the girls. Her intellect amused him as much as her body aroused him. A single fingertip of his traced up her arm, shivers weaving through her at his gentle touch, taking the cigarette from between her fingers and bringing back to his lips and he raised himself off of her.

“You know, Violet, we have enjoyed quite the time together. It’d be a shame for you to ruin it with your insolence.” Michael removed himself from the bed completely and strolling into his bathroom. Violet took a single moment to catch her breath and will herself back to normal before she took his exit as her cue to do so as well. She grabbed her jeans from where Michael had discarded them on his velour chairs and made her way out of his room and towards her down the hall. He had asked her to move in only a few weeks ago with the admission that he was as addicted to her pussy as he was coke and needed to have it as an option at all times. She wasn’t stupid enough to think she was the only pussy Michael was filling or the only mouth sucking his dick but she was the only one who had been elevated to the status of living in his home. It also meant she took on certain duties that being within his inner circle required. Such as disciplining, or disposing of, the help.

“Maeve? Will you come here a moment?” Violet sat at her vanity and gently began powdering at the handprint around her neck. She couldn’t let anyone beneath her see that there were ever rocky moments in her relationship with Michael. If he was to remain atop his empire, then she had to make sure the foundation didn’t crack beneath him.

“Yes, Miss Violet?”

“He has requested Aria be removed from the Cooperative. May you make the necessary preparations?” Violet had half a mind to snap the girls neck as she zeroed in on her throat, dragging her eyes up the tear tracks before finally looking at her.

“Yes, Madame.” 

 

\----

 

Violet sat in the chair normally reserved for Michael that overlooked all of the Cooperative nightclub. Her heart ached a little as she watched the poor girl, Aria, be dragged into the middle of the dancefloor. She looked up at Violet, silently pleading for her to spare her. Violet stood gracefully and did her best to look the victim in the eye. Michael had always chastised her for being too weak to look them in the eye before she killed them. She turned her back and the men holding the girl’s arms took that as their signal and then she was gone. 

“I knew you had it in you.” The slow sounds of Michael clapping emerged from the dark corner of the balcony. “My ruthless Madame.”

“I will do whatever you ask of me, Michael.” 

“Oh, I know, my lamb. I know.”


	2. Can Barely Stand On My Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet and Michael come face to face for the first time. 
> 
> Smut warning.

The club was eerily quiet when Violet first walked in. Her boots echoed through the empty lounge area as she carried herself towards the stage. The advertisement for dancers that she had seen in front of her family diner was clutched in her hand. No one else seemed to be in the building aside from a man who stood on the stage with his back to her.

“I was hoping you’d come.” Violet stopped in her tracks.

“Anyone could have seen the paper you posted,” she reasoned as the blonde turned around, a cigarette dangling from his elegant fingertips. 

“It was a test to see if you would notice it.”

“A test?”

“Sweet, Violet,” he took a drag and stepped down the stairs towards her, “I have connections across every level of society. In return for their information, they get to feel wanted by a man such as myself. I hope to provide you with the same elation.” He approached her confidently as if he had been acquainted intimately with her his entire life. She couldn’t find the courage to look him in the eyes so she zeroed in on his exposed chest instead. 

“If you wanted me to come and work here, why didn’t you just ask?” The sound that came out of his mouth was a snarl.

“I don’t get my hands dirty. I let you come to the conclusion yourself. This way, I know you are in the right frame of mind for what I need.”

“I was under the presumption that you needed someone with service experience and with my family’s business-” It was his absolutely wicked smile that made the words get caught in throat. It was unsettling and powerful and alluring and she thinks Michael Langdon was used to always being a step ahead and using that to get what he wants. Violet thinks she was a lamb come to the slaughter. The minute she even looked at his advertisement, she hadn’t stood a chance.

“Oh this is a service industry occupation but maybe not in the way you’re used to servicing your customers and your boss. Follow me to my office. You’ll find the seating arrangements more comfortable for our interview.”

 

\----

 

She doesn’t think she had ever seen this much velvet. It was a deep red and covered the room save for the fur accents that were draped across the couches and lounge chairs. Her tongue wished to ask why he had a fire going while they were in Los Angeles but she kept her mouth shut.

“Make yourself comfortable, Miss Bell.” The adjustment to her last name caught her off guard for a moment but she let it slide quickly and took her place on the couch across from where he sat lazily in a chair, a fresh cigarette swirling smoke around his face. Her dress felt too short under his deciphering gaze, goosebumps prickling on her exposed skin as his eyes raking over their creamy real estate felt as though it was his tongue or fingers with their intensity. “What’s your sexual experience consist of?”

“I’m sorry?” She hoped she had misheard his question but they way his eyes just continued to look through her told her that she hadn’t and he wasn’t repeating himself. “I’ve used my mouth and my hands but never fully had sex.” She thinks honesty was the best play with him. That perfectly sloped nose of his could probably sniff out a lie from a mile away.

“Do you like touching yourself?” Violet stared at him in the hopes he would back down from this line of questioning. It was fruitless effort.

“Yes.”

“Would you like to touch yourself now?” Michael had begun to notice the way her thighs were flexing together involuntarily and every time they clenched, his cock noticed too.

“Are you asking if I am attracted to you?” He shook his head with a chuckle.

“No. I could not care less if you are attracted to me for I am not attracted to you. In a polite way, I was asking you to touch yourself.”

“What does that have to do with the open position at your club?” Violet had been feeling more and more rebellious in the past few weeks and that had been the spirit that guided her to take the flyer and march down to his club in the name of inquiry. 

“I only hire girls who look pretty when they cum. In order for me to hire you or not, I need you to make yourself cum.” The heat on her cheeks was burning as she looked away from him and around the room. It had to be a joke. There had to be a camera somewhere. Maybe Michael Langdon was not the sexy, slinking club owner she had thought he was or heard around town that he was. Maybe he was just a pervert.

“Mr. Langdon-”

“Well, Miss Bell, I thought I was offering you the opportunity from the freedom from your mundane life that you had so craved. Since that it not the case, I can have someone escort you out.” He stood, ready to offer her his hand and show her the door. It was his comment about offering her freedom that made her take pause. Deep down that was the true reason behind her entrance into his life. The diner was the same every day. The same people. The same coffee. The same bacon and eggs and Violet always thought her life was meant to be more. And here was Michael Langdon offering her that. Offering her the glitz and the glamour of a new life of excitement and spontaneity. She thinks it could eventually be worth rubbing her clit for.

“Stop. I’ll do it.” He won and he knew it but he also always knew he would. Michael existed in an odd headspace where he was always two steps ahead but always too impatient for people to make those two steps on their own. 

“Perfect. Whenever you’re ready.” He landed back in the chair the way a cat always rights themselves after a fall, folding his hands peacefully in front of him. Violet started by ridding herself of her bell bottoms. “Take it all off. Have to make sure the pussy is just as pretty as the face.” Begrudgingly but still obligingly, she kicked off the white panties and all her coverings on top went into the corner with it.

“Do you need to look first? If my pussy isn’t pretty enough for you then what is the point in seeing how I look when I cum?” He tilted his head.

“Making you cum is for your own good. You look like you could use a good orgasm.” Ignoring him, she leaned back against the pillows and threw one leg over the top of the couch and let the other dangle off the side. Violet started by lightly tracing her fingertips around her nipples. The slight sensation made pin pricks of pleasure begin to erupt throughout her body. It was as if they knew something larger was coming and they were getting ready for it. One hand kept its attention on her nipple while the other traced to tease the line of skin between her belly button and the top of her pussy. The pins grew with each gentle sweep of her hand. She had to work herself slowly in order to really make herself wet. She couldn’t just aimlessly begin rubbing her clit or teasing her entrance, she had to build to it. There was no motive to put on a show for Michael. For one, she was sure that he had seen the best that there was to offer already and two, she wanted to get this over with. The tip of her finger skated down past her lips and collected a bit of her wetness, bringing it to the bridge of her clit and gently stroking it. It was the smallest of movements and motions but the stirrings in her hips began. They began to slowly rock in time to her finger, begging her to speed up in the name of chasing release. She fought to keep it slow, bending her finger to reach the little pearl at the tip that was exposed due to her actions. That made her gasp. A little shiver ran through her legs as she kept teasing the pearl, rubbing circles on it even as her body screamed it was sensitive.

“Fuck,” she moaned, her hand coming to knot itself in her hair as her hips moved up of the couch to chase her hand and the pleasure it was giving her. She fought through the sensitivity and flattened her fingers against her clit in the name of more surface area and stimulation. The sounds of her own wetness was like music to her ears as she gasped and moaned and chanted yes yes yes as the invisible rope inside of her snapped. It all washed over her at once as her legs clenched together, her whole body hitting the peak of the mountain and falling down. Her thighs snapped together on the hand that was still rubbing at her clit in a bid to get it to stop, every nerve ending exposed and sensitive. She removed it slowly and just lay there panting for a moment. There was a pleasant throbbing between her legs and she wished to bask in it for a moment.

“You pass. For now.” Her eyes snapped open at remembrance that she wasn’t alone. Michael was still calmly sitting in his chair. Violet was slightly disappointed to see that he didn’t even seem to be hard.

“For now?” He stood up and towered over her pliant form.

“Yes. I require frequent reviews of my employees performance. This is part of it. Ava will provide you a uniform on your way out. I’ll see you tonight.” He walked out of the room without a second glance. Violet couldn’t stop the insane giggle that escaped from her mouth. She was in disbelief as to what she had just done but it felt liberating and Michael Langdon had approved.

“Tonight.” Tonight held so many promises.


	3. Baby You're Not That Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael & Violet enjoy an interesting business dinner.
> 
> warning for murder, aggressive behavior towards women

“Violet, would you mind staying for a minute?” She paused where she was leaving Michael’s office, having finished dividing the tips for the night.

“Yes, Mr. Langon?” He viciously rolled his eyes. “Sorry, yes, Michael?” After her initial interview and…audition, she had had trouble looking him in the eye. And he had noticed. And Violet had the sick feeling that he was enjoying it. Getting off on it.

“I was thinking you might have the time to join me for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Dinner?” There was that eye roll again.

“Do you not eat that meal? Is the word foreign to you?”

“No, dinner is my favorite meal actually.”

“Who the fuck picks dinner as a favorite meal?”

“If you’re going to rudely banter with me, then I do not wish to have dinner with you.” He felt his hand that was resting on his desk clench into a fist. No one had ever denied him anything even in a jovial tone. Especially not a women. One who worked for him no less.

“I-” The words were getting caught in his throat as he fought to ride the delicate balance between rage and manners. “I won’t accept your insolence. My car will be outside your building at 6 tomorrow and I will wait for five minutes after which, if you are not in the car, it will leave and you will no longer have a place within my staff. Am I making myself clear enough?” She nodded, not wanting to say the wrong thing as his voice had taken on a darker, demanding tone. Violet clutched her shared of the tips closer to her chest and spun on her heels before doing her best to confidently stride out of Michael’s office. He couldn’t help but appreciate the way her dress rode up her ass on the way out.

—-

At 5:59, Michael’s Blackhawk pulled up in front of her building and he wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find that Violet was dutifully waiting outside. He had told her to dress nice and she had, her nude colored dress embroidered with roses looking just as innocently beautiful as he could have hoped for.

“I was expecting to see your driver behind the wheel,” she mused as she smoothed her skirt in order to sit down in the passenger seat without flashing him.

“The business I have to attend to tonight is a bit more…personal. The less opulence surrounding me and my arrival, the better.” Violet hummed and turned to look out the window so he wouldn’t be able to sniff out the slight hurt that was now radiating through her. She should have known that Michael wasn’t asking her to dinner on a date. Maybe a part of her had known that and she had just ignored it.

“How was your day?”

“Excuse me?” Michael almost lost control at his vehicle over the shock of her asking him such a simple question.

“I’m trying to be polite, make small talk. We don’t have to talk at all, I guess, I just figured-”

“No, it just caught me off guard is all. No one ever really tries to make small talk with me, you know? It’s always direct and straightforward or pleading.”

“Odd. I was raised to always ask how someone is or something along those lines before anything else.” He spared a quick look at her to see she was staring out the window. Something about the way the sunlight was coming in through the window as it set made her look otherworldly. And maybe she was.

“I think we come from much different worlds, Violet…Do you like listening to music?” She nodded. “Pick a station, then. And hand me a cig while you’re there.” She completed that part of the task first, her fingers shaking as he puckered his lips so she could place it between them for him. Her nervousness was replaced by panic as he took both hands off the wheel to light his smoke.

“Michael!” she screeched as cars began to honk at them as the car began to veer onto the other side of the road.

“You think I would let either of us fucking die?” When she didn’t respond as quickly as she normally did, he turned to see she had her eyes closed and was muttering something under her breath. “You good there, babe?” His hand rubbed against her thigh in the hopes she would snap out from under whatever trance she was under.

“Sometimes, when my heart skips a beat like that, I have to count backwards from 100 to get it back to normal. Sorry.”

“No I, uh, I’m sorry. For putting you through a scare like that.” He swallowed thickly. The positive words of an apology tasted like vinegar coming off his tongue.

“Thank you,” she replied with a deep sigh as she leaned forward again to fiddle with the dials of his radio. The sounds of ABBA hit her ears and she paused, leaning back in her seat as her shoulders gently shimmied along with the song. “A couple of years ago I was really super into this song cause I was 17.” She ended her reveal with a giggle.

“Sometimes it’s the little things in life that help us get through,” he mused as his long fingers turned the volume dial up slightly. The chorus was about to come up and Violet could feel her desire to sing along building up inside of her as well.

“Do you wanna see the dance my friends and I made up for this?” There was no trace of her joking or teasing in her voice and when Michael glanced her way her arms were already moving fluidly along to the music. She didn’t wait for his answer and as the chorus hit so did her dance moves. He couldn’t stop himself from grinning as the sound of her voice began to waft throughout the car and she was good. She was really good.

“You’re a good singer. And a good dancer. You work for me so of course you are.” Her thanks came out breathlessly as she turned the radio down during a commercial.

“You don’t give out compliments much, do you?” He knew if he looked at her that there would most likely be some form of a devilish smirk on her face.

“No. So don’t expect them or think that they really mean anything.” She bit her lip so her snarky remark wouldn’t slip past them as they pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.

“This is much nicer than I had planned for, Michael,” she said as she frantically began to dig through her tiny bag to see if she had remembered to pack her lip gloss and mascara.

“Relax, Violet. You’re here as something of a distraction for our other companions. They won’t be looking at your face.” Her cheeks burned as his words registered inside of her.

“You brought me here to be a fucking prop?” His dancer-like fingers found purchase on her jaw, holding her stare intently onto him.

“Don’t you use language like that directed towards me ever again. One slip up tonight and you’ll be erased from existence.” Violet believed him. She had heard rumors of what happened to previous employees of his. What had happened to even strangers on the street that he had gotten a certain vibe from.

“Yes, sir.” The freedom felt by an uncaged bird was snatched away from her as he yanked his fingers back from her jaw.

“You flirt with them like it’s your high school crush until our food comes and then it’s my turn. Then, you don’t even make eye contact with them. You pick at your food and stare at your feet.” Michael was now questioning why he had chosen a newbie to accompany him as his arm candy that night. Normally the job was reserved for much more experienced members of his staff and they went through a rigorous training process before they were even deemed remotely reliable for such an event. “Now fluff your hair and let’s get going.”

—-

“Langdon, this one is new.” Violet didn’t even flinch when the man’s hand stroked across her chin as if he was assessing the product.

“Gentlemen this is-”

“Callie.” To his credit, he only let the shock register across his face for a moment before he recovered. Luckily the men did not notice and they took turns kissing her hand one by one before Michael led her over to their table. She made a note in her own mind that there was no one else at the restaurant and thinks that must have been intentional. “Mr. Langdon did not warn me as to the handsome nature of his friends.” She smiled politely at Michael as he pushed her chair in for her.

“There’s a lot of things Langdon doesn’t share with people.”

“Especially that he had acquired such a gem as yourself for his crown.”

“Callie, this is Mr. Fisher, a business investor in the Cooperative.” Violet leaned forward so she could rest her hand on his thigh.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Mr. Langdon’s and a patron of his fine establishment, is a friend of mine.” Her lip getting caught on her bottom lip was a pure accident but she felt the man’s thigh twitch under her hand regardless.

The dinner carried on just as Michael had instructed her it would. She gave the man fluttering eyelashes and kept her lips glossy and made sure to touch them as softly as possible every time they were within her reach. Violet could only hope that he was pleased with her performance. Not only was she afraid to let him down but it also felt nice to be included inside his inner circle even if it was a sham or only for one night.

“You and your friend continuing the party at the club tonight?” The meal had finished but none of the men showed any signs of being ready to leave.

“Why? Were you looking to join us?” Michael inquired as he rested a hand on Violet’s thigh. She was surprised by his slightly patronizing tone, as if he was making fun of his company for thinking they were worthy of spending a night with him and her at the club.

“Well, if you weren’t, I was gonna see if the pretty little lady wanted to see what a real good time looked like.” She opened her mouth to offer him a sweet response in the way she knew Michael would like but his own venomous tone beat her to it.

“She stays with me but I’m sure she appreciates the offer, Everett.” When he placed his napkin from his lap back onto the table, Violet knew that was her queue to get ready to leave as well.

“C’mon, Langdon, don’t tell me you’ve lost your zeal for sharing.” His hand enclosed around her wrist and yanked her forward so she fell off her seat with a yelp. Her first instinct was to try and get herself free but the man only gritted his teeth and held onto her tighter.

“Let go.” Michael was trying to remain neutral, not show his hand as to how he was being affected by the mistreatment of Violet. Every time he had brought a women to such a business meeting, he had let many things slide and she had always been okay with it. He had made sure of that. But Violet was different. She was an untainted soul. Unwilling to compromise her lifestyle with the demands that Michael placed on her. She had found a way to keep both  intact and he had begun to admire that. He’d be damned if he let these horny, perverted assholes break her before he had the chance to himself.

“Langdon-” The man never finished his plea as Michael picked up a steak knife and aimed it right for his throat, finding his target with a practiced ease. Violet gasped and scurried herself backwards as his hand went limp around her wrist and his blood spattered onto her face.

“Does anyone else have a request they would like to ask of me? Does anyone else have anything to say to my guest?” He was stoic. Not a single muscle in his body was shaking with adrenaline or unease and none of his nerve endings felt any different than they had before he threw the knife. None of them dared to open their mouths or even lift a finger. “Good. I expect all your deposits by tomorrow morning…and clean up this mess.” Both of his arms slid under Violet’s as he forcefully lifted her to a standing position. She couldn’t take her eyes off the slumped body in front of her.

“Michael…”

“Listen to me, you pull yourself together and walk out of here with your head held high and a fucking smile on your face,” he whispered harshly into her ear. All she really wanted to do was cry but she nodded along with his request instead. With a deep breath, she tilted her nose upward and smiled while trying not to taste the blood that was speckled across her mouth.

“A pleasure to meet you all.” She was proud at how her voice didn’t shake nearly as much as her hands were as she spoke the farewell words. The blown kiss and a wink were done to prove to Michael she could follow directions and finish a job through until the very end. Afterwards, he all but dragged her out into the parking lot with a bruising grip on her upper arm. “Let go of me!” Violet ripped her arm out of Michael’s and turned around so she could face him and push against his chest.

“Get in the goddamn car, Violet! We don’t have time for you to throw a hissy fit.” When she pushed against his chest again he bear-hugged her against his chest and carried her kicking and screaming the rest of the way to his car.

“I was fine playing along as your little side piece for the night but I did not consent to being a witness for murder!” The last word came out in a scream and he clapped his hand over her mouth after he practically threw her into the passenger seat.

“You better shut up. You keep your nasty little mouth shut or you’ll force my hand and I don’t want to have to do that to you, okay?”

“You’ll fucking kill me too?” she sobbed as the weight of the evening finally settled on her shoulders. He didn’t even dignify her question with a response, instead just sighing and closing the door before making his way to the driver’s side.

“My friend owns an ice cream place down the road, I’ll take you there to get cleaned up before I bring you home.” Michael’s voice was a bit softer now as the high of the kill began to wear off and he realized he had a sobbing, bloodied girl sitting in his car and that he was entirely to blame. He hadn’t felt remorse for his actions in a very long time but something about Violet made him think that she truly hadn’t done anything in her life to deserve such a shit hand. Such shit treatment.

She shivered slightly under the harsh lights of the white bathroom, Michael making her take off her dress because of the blood spatter, lighting it on fire in the sink.

“Will anyone even know he’s dead?” she asked as he helped her shrug into an employee uniform his friend had lying around.

“What did I say, Violet?”

“We had dinner…just the two of us…nothing else happened.” He nodded along to her words.

“Good, my sweet girl, good. Let’s get you home so you can get some sleep.”

“Michael?” He hummed as an answer, “Can I get a milkshake first? Since we’re here.” And there was no way he could deny her that. Something so innocent and beautiful and simple.

“Of course.” He helped her down from the sink and led her back out into the parlor with a gentle hand on the small of her back, directing her towards a booth. “What flavor?”

“Vanilla is fine,” she replied as her eyes stayed glued to the table in front of her and she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold in the draft of the main area. Without even thinking about it, Michael shrugged off his paisley jacket and rested it on her shoulders before heading to the counter to get her her milkshake.

“You got a bit more color in your cheeks,” he announced as he made it back to her with the drink in tow.

“I think I’ll feel a bit better with some sugar in me…do you want the cherry?” She held the stem between two fingers before plucking it from the mountain of whipped cream at Michael’s nod. Something stirred inside of her as his lips enclosed around the red, candied fruit and gracefully pulled it off the stem and into his mouth. He took the stem into his mouth next and when he stuck his tongue out at her after only a second, it was tied into a perfect knot at the end. “Do you have dinners like that often?

“I’m not answering any of your questions until I get a spoonful of whipped cream.” That managed to put a smile on her face but she rolled her eyes at his request regardless. She used the long spoon that had come in the glass to scoop from the mound of whipped topping, extending her arm across the table so she could place it into his mouth. “Thank you, babe. And not too often. Often enough to keep all my business deals secure and the club up and running.”

“Do you always bring a girl with you?”

“Women have a way of making men show their true selves, for better or for worse. Whether they’re a polite gentlemen or a sleaze. They’ll do anything to impress a pretty girl and I like to know everything about the people I conduct business with.”

“Why me tonight?”

“Wild card. I had a feeling about you and wanted to see if it was correct.” She didn’t ask if it had been because she didn’t know what that would mean about herself. It would mean that she fit into Michael’s world, the darkest corners of it. It would mean that she had earned a place by his side. It would mean that the girl who poured coffee at her parent’s diner was so long gone that she might as well of disappeared. “I don’t want you to worry about any repercussions from tonight, Violet, I’ll protect you from everything. You have my word.” She kept her eyes locked on his as she forcefully sucked the last of her milkshake through the straw.

“Will you take me home now?” He nodded and stood with her, draping his arm over her shoulder as they left and made their way to his car.

The ride to her building was quick and quiet, no ABBA this time, Violet was beyond tired and just hoping that she wouldn’t take too long to find the sleep she so desperately was craving. Michael cut the engine when they pulled up to the curb and got out so he could open her door like a gentleman, owing her the softness of every action he was taking. She held onto his hand as they reached her front door, Michael admiring that she still managed to look beautiful even under the harsh, yellow light of the entryway. He watched silently as she produced her key from her purse and inserted it into the door.

“Wait,” he whispered as he grabbed her hand again to make sure she didn’t slip behind the door yet. “Thank you for tonight, you were great, maybe even perfect. Take a couple of days off from the club, if you need them.”

“But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to see you,” she said back as if she was divulging all of the world’s secrets in that one sentence. He only smiled and then pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger a bit longer than he should have.

“Good night, Callie.” With one stroke of his knuckles down her cheek, he turned around and disappeared into the night. Violet stood for a moment until she heard the engine of his car roar to life and peel off down the street. She smiled as she finally walked into her building. Somehow, the darkness of Michael Langdon was beginning to feel like home.


	4. Watch That Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael teaches Violet how to dance

“I can’t do anything right!” Violet stomped her foot as the pencil she applied to her eyebrow turned out to be her red lip liner. It was turning out to be one of those days. Her morning had started with the zipper to her bell bottoms snapping, her afternoon had brought on sugar on her fries instead of salt and now, only a bit before she was supposed to go out and dance, she had a red streak in her eyebrow.

“When you make a mistake, you just have to own it. Lean into it. Rock those red brows!” Colette, the most senior dancer at the club, sat down next to her and plucked the red pencil from her hand. “Make it your thing, baby doll.” 

“You really think I can pull this off?” Michael had mainly been having her work as a waitress for the private tables. He had told Violet that she needed to build up her confidence before he could trust her dancing in the middle of the floor. After one of the dancers had booked a private night with one of his business partners, it was her turn to step up.

“I think you can pull off anything that you tell yourself you can.”

“But, Mr. Langdon-”

“Does not give a fuck what you put on your face as long as your booty shakes, you make the blood pump in the people watching you and their dollar bills go flying.” Colette finished the strokes through her hair and tilted Violet’s chin so she was looking at herself in the mirror. “Now how about that?” It was different. Certainly different. But not a bad different. The girl, or woman now, looking back at her looked strong. Like she wasn’t going to take no for answer. Like she didn’t even need to ask you because there was nothing she couldn’t do herself.

“I look like I’m ready to dance!”

 

\----

 

The platform looked daunting as Violet made her way towards it. She walked with purpose and clarity like she had been trained, fluttering her lashes at anyone who looked at her and letting her fingertips trail across the patrons that seem a bit more enamored by her. Her mind focused on the beat of the music that was pounding throughout the club. Violet tried to match her steps and hips to it as she stepped onto the circular platform in the middle of the dancefloor. There were other dancers scattered around her, all doing their own things, and she closed her eyes before taking a deep breath and following their lead. She let the bass control the beating of her heart. Closed her eyes and pretended she was back in her bedroom at home, where she had been practicing in the mirror all day. She messed her hair up with her fingers and made sultry eye contact with members of the crowd that was growing around her. Her style was more teasing than some of the other dancers. Most of them liked to flash some skin and spread their legs and let the audience know exactly what it was that they weren’t seeing. That they weren’t allowed to touch. Violet strung her audience along like they were going to catch a glimpse of her like that and then pluck it from right in front of their eyes. Her skin was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. They’d have to commit sins rival to that of Michael Langdon to see any further inches of her.

 

\----

 

“For a rookie you were pretty damn good,” Anita said as Violet walked into the dressing room once the club was closed for the night. She blushed under her praise and that of the other girls who patted her on the back as she walked to her seat at the mirror.

“Thank you. I was super nervous and unsure but I guess it went okay. I didn’t fall off the platform like I thought I would.” They all giggled. 

“I think that was all of ours biggest worry. And how to handle the customers.” Some of them raised their brows and turned back to what they were doing. Some scoffed at Anita’s admission. Others looked sheepish as though they remembered their first time with a man who got too handsy and they wished they didn’t.

“I hadn’t thought of that...maybe I should.”

“If a customer gets too aggressive, Miss Violet, then you can come directly to me.” Their backs went ramrod straight as Michael walked into the dressing room, their girlish laughter covering up the signature sound his gold boots made that normally would alert them to his arrival. “May I have a moment alone with Violet, ladies?” None of them even looked at him as they kept their heads down and scurried out of the room. Violet had been surprised at first how even the most outspoken of the girls shrunk when Michael spoke to them. The power he commanded and deference he demanded made their personality die on their tongue.

“I hope you enjoyed my dance tonight, Mr. Langdon.” Violet kept her voice smile. Until she knew the kind of mood that Michael was in, she presented herself as meek and malleable.

“For a first timer it was alright. There is improvement to be made.” She nodded eagerly. It wasn’t entirely bad criticism. It meant she would be able to keep her job. And her head. 

“The next opportunity I have, I will improve.” 

“I’m sure you will.” He walked measuredly to the chair next to her, straddling it so the back was against the front of his chest. “You strike me as a smart girl, Violet, so can I ask a question and expect an intelligent response?”

“Should I be familiar with the subject matter then I suppose so, yes.” Michael smirked. 

“What possessed you into making your eyebrows red tonight?” Her heart stilled. Her breath got caught in her throat. She opened her mouth as though tasting the air could provide her with a blueprint on how to respond.

“I was so nervous about tonight that I...I wasn’t paying attention to the pencil I grabbed. I thought it was my brow pencil but it was my lipliner and-”

“I fucking loved it.” That silenced her. He looked at her with a twinkle to his eye. Like there was a future he was seeing and there was no way she could ever know about it.

“Well, thank you. I guess it was a happy accident then. They made me feel like a different person out there.”

“I didn’t hire you to be a different person. I hired you to be Violet.” She didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or a threat. No one ever knew how to take what Michael said. “Can I see how the red would have looked on your lips instead of your eyebrows?” Violet nodded and stayed still as he took the towel she had been using to clean her face and gently swiped it across her lips to remove the color that had been there, clearing her eyebrows back to their natural color next. His elegant fingers gripped the lip liner and she held her breath as he leaned closer to apply it. It was the softest touch she had ever experienced, the way he gently traced her lips and looked as though he was mesmerized in the process. Violet felt the undeniable urge to lean forward and connect their lips but she knew better. Michael Langdon initiated the things he wanted, it was never the other way around.

“Does it look better?” she whispered after he had finished filling in the outline. Instead of answering, he pressed every inch of his plush lips against hers. When he pulled away they were a brilliant red and looking more gorgeous than they had mere seconds ago. The kiss had been so fleeting that Violet was left wondering if she had just imagined it. If Michael Langdon’s lips just looked so kissable that the mind took it into its own hands.

“I’m gonna pick you up tomorrow morning. Dress comfortably.” Abruptly, he stood up and left the room in a flourish of power and energy the way he always did.

“Holy shit, Violet!” She turned to see multiple heads peeking out from around the corner. They had seen and heard everything. 

“He kissed you!” Oh. So she hadn’t imagined that.

“What does it mean?” she asked in a tone that almost sounded pleading.

“He’s never done this with a dancer before so it’s new territory for all of us.”

“I mean, he’s slept with some of us before but he’s never kissed any of us outside of his room.” Everything they were saying was not doing anything to stop Violet’s head from spinning. New and uncharted territory was not where she thrived. 

“I’m gonna be sick,” she moaned. Unfortunately, she recognized the shade of red that flecked her vomit.

 

\----

 

Violet wore her favorite overalls for Michael the following morning. They were a mustard yellow with an embroidered owl on the front. She thinks he would have preferred she not wear a shirt underneath them but had decided to play it safe and throw a navy blue button up with white and orange flowers on underneath. After the tension that had existed between the two of them yesterday, she thinks it was best she keep the showing skin to a minimum. She was sure it was some sort of Satanic intervention that he pulled up in front of her building as soon as she stepped outside.

“Perfect timing,” she smiled as he got out of the car to open the passenger door for her.

“You’ll find, Violet, that very little in my life is serendipitous.” Michael possessed nothing if not forethought. He prided himself on always being two steps ahead of his opponents. It was how he had gotten this far in life. He smirked her over the top of the door as she slid into the seat.

“Are we going to another one of your business meetings?” She didn’t want to. The last one had left her emotionally and psychologically scared but if that was what Michael was going to ask of her, then what choice did she have?

“No...I thought you could use some dance practice and considering it only matters if I like your dancing, I thought I should be your instructor.” His smile was beyond mischievous. Violet doesn’t think there was a word invented yet to explain the serpentine way his lips bared against his teeth. It was like he knew you were going to have the time of your life and he would be the reason for it and in return you would owe him your life. She thinks it might already be too late for her to escape such a fate. 

“The club was back that way.” She turned her head to watch the missed road fade from view.

“I’m not taking you to the club.” 

“Well-”

“Don’t ask, Violet, because I am not going to tell you. In fact,” he paused and reached one arm behind his chair to rummage around for something. “Put this on.” It was orange, black, white and brown in a chevron pattern.

“It’s a little warm for a scarf.”

“Over your eyes. Jesus, if I have to spell all these things out to you then maybe you aren’t deserving of my help.” Her eyes rolled at the dramatic tone he had taken but that was just Michael. He was very easily thrown off if he interpreted that things were not going his way or how he had anticipated.

“What sort of demonic ritual are you doing with your hands?” he asked as she finished tying the scarf around her eyes as was tapping her fingers around her chest in a pattern.

“It’s the cross, Michael! The opposite of demonic!”

“Opposite to your indoctrinated idea of demons, perhaps, but not to mine.”

“Well, pardon me for being worried that I am in the car with you, no idea where we are going and the last time I was in this situation ended in-”

“This is your one and only warning to keep your fucking mouth shut for the entirety of this excursion or I will make sure it remains permanently shut.” Violet blinked back the tears that threatened to fall after his verbal lashing. “Clear?”

“Crystal.”

 

\----

 

It was a cabin in the woods that Michael had brought her too. It was large and secluded and Violet it would be the perfect place for him to murder someone. He most likely had.

“In here.” His voice called her over from where she was standing in the doorway and taking in the house and the moment. She followed the sounds of Dolly Parton to an empty room with walls of mirrors.

“What do you normally use this room for?” she questioned.

“Kind of sexy, right? The mirrors?” She chuckled slightly at the image of Michael using this as a sort of sex dungeon in the middle of the woods.

“Kind of,” she mused as a way to humor him. His fingers raised the volume on the song as he produced a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Show me what you got.” 

 

\----

Violet felt like she had been dancing for hours. Somewhere along the way she had discarded her overalls and was now in just her button up and her red, white and orange underwear. She had to admit that the mirrors were kind of making it more sexy. It allowed her to watch herself and there was something about the sheen of sweat to her skin and the mussed nature of her hair that made her feel empowered. “You’re hips need to move a bit more like you know how to have sex.”

“I’m trying like I’ve seen in the movies but I guess it’s not working.” She blew a piece of hair out of her face.

“Let me.” He came up behind her and settled his hands on her hips, lifting her shirt slightly so he could get access to her bare skin. “Follow my lead.” Hall & Oates came on next as Michael molded her back to his front and began to step to the beat and guide her hips with his. It was all very intimate and sensual to Violet. She was no longer merely blushing but was burning red. There was a bulge pressing between the cheeks of her bottom and it spurred her hips on faster and smoother and more languid.

“How was that?” she asked with a slight pant to her voice as the song came to an end. He chose not to use his words to answer and instead used his teeth. They nipped gently at the sensitive skin behind her ear, Violet dropping her head to her shoulder to offer him all of her. 

“Something about you Violet...it’s going to be the death of me.” It sounded like a secret shared between two lovers. Like she was the only person in the world he could be fully vulnerable with-mind, body and soul. He had plenty of people in his life that he had bared himself to physically. But never mentally or emotionally. Maybe, for the sake of his own health, he should consider doing so. Consider doing so with Violet.

“Kiss me, Michael Langdon.” He spun her around and pushed her against the mirror they had been dancing into and pinned her wrists above her head as his lips claimed hers. She ached to tangle her fingers through his hair but his grip wouldn’t let her. Violet tried to hook her leg around his waist to urge him closer and keep him against her but he was sturdy in his positioning. Naturally, her hips began to move against him in need for relief of the heat that he was causing to pool in her lower stomach. When he pushed back just a little bit, she gasped and he slipped his tongue past her lips. She swears she heard him moan into her mouth and she wears that it was the most heavenly thing she has ever experienced. Just as she felt his hands beginning to loosen around her own, he abruptly ripped himself off of her. “Did I do something wrong?” she inquired as he turned his back to her.

“Yes.” But he didn’t elaborate any further.

“I’m sorry.” He grabbed the pile of her clothes from the corner and threw them in her direction. 

“Get dressed. You being in your underwear doesn’t help the situation.” Quickly, she pulled on her clothes and even went to the door and grabbed her shoes for good measure. “I didn’t say to leave, Violet!”

“I was just grabbing my shoes. Covering up as much as possible.” Sheepishly, she stood in the doorway and looked at the ground.

“You’re intoxicating. And I have enough vices to satisfy me without the deadliest of them all to the pile.”

“Michael, I’m not-”

“It’s what you represent, Violet. What you make me think about.” She wouldn’t know for quite some time what it was that he was talking about. It was a dirty word to Michael. Something he had never believed in and had built up a tolerance to. It was, potentially, the only thing that could crumble down the empire he sat atop. He’d have to repent that night with the dirtiest whores in the city just for even thinking it. For stopping himself short of deflowering Violet right then and there in the cabin. It was like vinegar in his soul. 

 

Love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think will happen next and what you want to happen next!

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you guys think and if you'd want to see more!


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